SOMETHING'S UP
by Canadians Rock
Summary: Nick and Judy have always had a bond that seemed unbreakable - or was unbreakable until a handsome rabbit in a tuxedo with a bouquet of flowers shows up at Nick's front door and things burn and crash soon after. Treachery and secrets hidden in the dark keep the two partners apart. And standing in the middle of it all is a single male rabbit... (Rated M for gore in later Chapter)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Nick knew something was wrong when he dug through his massive collection of detective cop films trying to find one that was appeasing to both him and Judy's taste - but mostly Judy's. It was Thursday, a time in which a natural agreement rather than a tradition, between the two had formed where Nick would chill on the couch awaiting that moment when a grey blur with sparkling amethyst eyes would come barging through his apartment door squealing like Clawhauser rambling on about some amasing detective film she'd bought at the dollar store; which would inevitably lead to Nick trying to ignore her as much as possible but still complacent enough to take the DVD packet away from her and insert it into the disk drive, waiting for that moment where the small prey would start babbling on and on about how cool it was an all its action packed scenes, and all the cool slow Mo shots that reminded Nick all too well of the Catrix...because apparently putting detective clichés within the movies that Judy brought just wasn't enough, it had to include a paid homage towards the Catrix.

But this was an abnormal Thursday. Somehow, someway the two had managed to find a time schedule that was perfect for chilling on a rickety, springy couch and just watching films so nostalgic the two would end up turning their absent minded watching a movie into a full blown out commentary on just how many cameos and clichés they could find in all. The time schedule was usually somewhere around 7:30 to 9:30, because Nick said so and unless you were asking for a headache it'd be wise to just not argue with the vulpine's methods.

Looking over at the time on his phone it read 7:55.

Biting his lip he attended to other matters like grabbing two plastic sealed wrappers containing two thin brown paper bags filled with kernel and began ripping the plastic off and starting on the popcorn. Last time, Judy had made the popcorn so it was only natural that he did the same. Tapping his foot against the tiled floor while he waited for the microwave to stop, he stared around at his surroundings which were the same old stuff all in their discarded places like he'd left them this morning. Piles upon piles of ties, pants, boxers, dress shirts, T- shirts, and khakis lay strewn about without a care in the world. His iron board was leaning precariously against the side door frame of his bathroom, and his police uniform was just lying on the edge of the couch with more wrinkles than he could count.

Walking back over, he picked up his phone again and read the time to see that it was now: 7:57.

Where the fuck is she?! He thought, beads of sweat forming on the sides of his head. The gears in his head were slowly cranking and it took all of his will power not to have a full blown nervous breakdown with his head swimming through all the possible things that could've happened to her.

The rational side of him was running around in circles carrying a sign that flashed neon green saying, "Call her you dimwit!"

Calm down Wilde, think rationally and just...call her...

Static. And then suddenly, "Hello, Judy Ho-"

"Carrots!"

"Nick?! What's wro-?"

"Where are you, you've been gone forever!" He exclaimed, throwing his free arm up into the air in exasperation.

"But we - just saw each other all day at the station, what are you..talking. About?" She asked her confusion causing her to shorten her sentence.

Keeping back a frustrated sigh, Nick calmly replied back, "Look at your calendar."

Even though he couldn't see her he knew she'd listened to him as she turned around and looked behind her to see that circled in red marker was Thursday and scribbled inside the circle in neon pink marker was the words: Catrix. Because the author is lazy as fuck and also because Judy wanted to surprise Nick while at the same time annoy him. She'd completely forgotten about their movie day. Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth she bit her lip and narrowed her eyes a bit at the circled week day; scribbled beneath in small blue ink under the larger words was the words 'going out with friends'.

"Carrots?...You still there?" Came Nick's concerned voice on the other end of the line.

Jumping, the rabbit almost tripped up and dropped her phone onto the hard wooden floorboards, fumbling around with it in her padless paws before finally getting a sturdy grip on it and pressing it back against her large ear, "Uh huh, still here. Look um - I'm not gonna be able to come over today I uh...well I made some new friends and they wanted me to go out on a night in the town with them, and you know..stuff.." She trailed off not sure how to continue onwards with her explanation.

Please, please, please just accept this!

"..."

"Nick?..."

"..."

"You...are the dumbest bunny alive."

Baffled, Judy blinked three times to register what was happening but before she could get a word out the other line disconnected with her and and she was left feeling stupid but also a bit nervous. Was Nick mad at her for not telling him straight forward, or had he figured it out already? I mean yeah, she could just tell him the absolute truth of what she was doing tonight but...

"Well, well, well, someone's looking mighty fine for a night out with some friends."

Squeaking in pure terror Judy leaped out of her bed and crashed into the desk behind her, tumbling over the small wooden chair and landing with a heavy thud on the floor. Grunting she pulled herself up and glanced around at her surroundings before seeing something on her phone screen that seemed to be moving...and snickering as well.

The fucking bastard.

He'd MuzzleTime'd her with no warning once so ever towards that fact, leaving her frantically trying to find something in her vicinity to use as a towelette to wipe away the makeup on her face.

Nick watched from his side of the phone curiosity piquing his interest while his insufferable smirk grew wider with each passing seconds. He knew the smirk held some secrecy to it as it hid his surprise and shock. He knew his Carrots, and this was not his Carrots. His Carrots did not wear eyeliner that made her eyelashes, already so long and luscious, look like long dragged out eyes lashes at the tips making them look like large lavender anime eyes; she didn't, would never be caught dead, wearing bright rosy pink lip gloss that made her already pink lips shine, and she did not in a million years ever wear ear rings!... especially the hoop kind.

But there she was in all her...utmost glory of dignification looking like a deer in headlights and only seeming to make her already wide beautiful eyes even more prettier than before. But the point still stood, she looked like a project runway model - or at least one of those mammals he'd seen on PlayBunny magazine...not that he'd been watching PlayBunny or anything like tha- okay forget I mentioned anything.

And to make things even more shocking for the red fox not only was she wearing lip gloss, not only was she wearing eyeliner, not only was she wearing eye shadow, seriously?!, but she was wearing what he could make out to be a bright crimson red, sleeveless dress/gown. The lining that covered her breasts was decorated in short hanging sequins that were a dark scarlet and sparkled so bright they were just..distracting. From the looks of it though the sparkle and glitter didn't stop there - at all. In fact it seemed to continue downwards towards the very end or at least that's the impression he was getting at the moment. But even though he was still trying to process what the fuck was going on with her tonight that did nothing to deter his smirk of what he knew and she knew was the oncoming onslaught of playful jeer.

"Well hello there missy," he said in his most swooning, charismatic, sexy voice he could pull off, "You're lookin mighty fine tonight for a rabbit officer. Care to tell me what plans you got this fine evening?" He waggled his eyebrows, as if this banter wasn't turning strange enough, and let out a suave growl that to a vixen would turn them on but since this was Judy his growl was about as threatening as...

Well, if you're wondering how a fox could be so non-threatening and still make it onto the force then that means your sanity is still intact - for the most part...

"Oh, you know the usual. Just dollying myself up to get goin' with my gals an all," she said in a over the top country girly accent although that might've had to do with the fact that she did come from the country and was as Nick quoted,' A naive country hick', "Yes indeed, I got some good plans to-night!"

"Woe is me, drat faith why must you toy with me so?" Nick said placing a paw atop his head and pressing his ears against his skull while swooning against the back of his couch melodramatically.

Judy clasped a hand to her mouth to stifle her muffled giggles but with the way Nick was acting, and because it was Nick anyways, it was completely pointless as she laughed uncontrollably, tears springing to the corners of her eyes.

Nick smirked at the sound of her laughter. Even though she was covered in makeup and wearing something she would normally complain about at least she still had her sense of humor and banter. And of course in the midst of her giggle fit Nick hadn't even realised it till he felt out of breath but he too had been giggling nonstop. Until it had to stop, as Judy finally calmed down enough to a normalcy level to talk business - which was never a good sign to the red vulpine.

"So, um, about you know...this Thursday-"

"It's okay," Nick smiled, a real genuine smile this time, and looked at her a winked, "It's not like I'm a complete loner you know, and I've got plenty of mammals to go out with. So you just go out and have your little ditty of good ol' times to add to your horrifying collection of selfie photobombs-"

"Hey!"

"..And I'll have my time chillin' out with with the big dogs! It's a win-win, no hard feelings!"

She seemed hesitant and looked like she wanted to reach through the screen to grip his hand or hug him or something but slowly put her arm back down and sighed heftily. She glanced back up at him with wide amethyst eyes, her ears drooping behind her back, "And you're positively su-"

"I'll be fine, Carrots."

"O-okay," The sound of keys jingling and of a door creaking could be heard, an seen, as Judy made her way out of her apartment complex, "Just don't do anything stupid."

"I always do."

"And only drink two shots at a time, nothing too heavy."

"I'll try my hardest to not make that promise."

"And by the love of all that is good, don't go getting a vixen pregnant!"

"Might be a bit too late of a warning, Carrots."

"Nicholas Pi-"

"Woah, woah, woah, woah! I kid, I'm kidding! God!"

She sighed in relief, "Oh thank goodness, I thought I was gonna have to come up there and throttle you. Alright I'm going now, I'll see you later!"

"Bye, you dumb country hick of a bunny!" Nick chided sweetly.

"Ni-!"

BEEEEEP!

Judy looked down at her now black screen on her phone, tapping her foot against the ground she huffed in annoyance. But really, how mad could she possibly be at her dear annoying, stupid, ridiculous, emotional, laid back, lazy as fuck best friend, Nicholas Wilde?

The answer was simple an written all over her face as a small crept on her lips and she skipped off towards her designated destination.

This, is going to be a great night!

Crystalfang's Tribal Pack so thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

This, is going to be a night...of something I don't know...

So there Nick sat on a bar stool swirling his drink in one hand while scrolling down his contacts trying to find someone available who would be more than willing to be his best man for a little occasion out on Sahara Square. Someone who was not on a diet, someone who wouldn't crush his limbs when doing any drunk rough housing, and someone who most certainly wouldn't intimidate him throughout the whole night cause he was at the top of the food chain still when it came to dominate canine species and Nick had no desire to repeat that accident again.

Sighing he turned off his phone and glanced down at his glass of alcohol. He'd ordered a martini just because; it was a sweet martini with the flavors of watermelon and a hint of what he was sure was strawberry and - some (marshmallow flavored vodka). It had been half priced an he was still scraping up all his money together to pay off his rent an so the vulpine figured it'd make sense if he was gonna go party by himself drunk as fuck he was gonna do it solo like back in the old days when he was a young troublemaker with no real ethical goals and just looking for a good excuse to party. Glancing at his phone again he wondered briefly if he should've asked or pleaded, yeah like he'd ever do that, with Judy to see if he could go with her.

And he could damn well do that if he still felt like. His species was designed to track rabbits and Nick knew Judy's scent all too well...at least he thought he did, but when he really put more thought into it - he didn't know what type of perfume she'd sprayed on herself, and he hadn't even asked her where she was going. Which meant he was stuck sipping on a martini while she was probably having the time of her life. The strobe lights weren't helping much and neither was the thumping of the bass that made his ears feel sore. His hearing was nothing compared to Judy's and certainly not as sensitive but it still hurt like fuck. Uncoordinated music slithered through the air in rapid waves as mammals of all species, prey and predator alike, clashed together on the dance floor either grinding against each other or so far gone they had no idea what they were doing in the first place. Or they were stoned either way he wasn't making any sudden moves towards the dance party going on behind him.

And besides, he'd always felt like a orange pumpkin on the dance floor. His body was stiff and while flexible he'd never imagined himself as the type to freely move about when all eyes suddenly averted to you an you alone. Nick was not going to have any of it; especially tonight.

Which was probably why the room began to become disoriented an out of place. The bartender, a barbary lion, looked like a mirage in a desert and every mammal that walked pass by looked like they were floating on thin air. He raised his hand like a student eager to answer a teacher's question an asked for another shot - on the house.

...And then downed it in 58 seconds or less. Which was a hefty record in his book.

I guess I'll scratch that off my bucket list as well, he thought bemusedly.

Slowly, he stretched and grabbed another shot from off the table from which he ordered. This time it tasted like..mango and - pine..apple? The fox wasn't entirely sure but he was pretty damn sure he'd just wasted his time drinking this shot. Not that it mattered since he was already wasting his time as it was. The room lurched and he could've sworn he was being thrown an pivoted through the air. He wasn't sure.

He wasn't sure about a lot of things tonight.

He couldn't wrap his head around why Judy would be so nervous to tell him something as simple as 'I'm going out with friends'. It just didn't add up. Heck, maybe she'd been lying and was now well on her way to a date-

No..that would be stupid.

He shook his head and tried to collect his thoughts. Or what was left of them.

He'd ordered for another shot; this time some freshly brewed Irish Coffee, filled happily with caffeine, alcohol, and lots of whipped cream layered on the top. Oh, and sprinkled in sweet cinnamon. He inhaled the scents and dug in, or rather sipped the white cream off the top before tilting his head back to down a slurp. It warmed his parched throat layered in nothing but heavy beverages. Like said, Nick had not made any promises about drinking heavily an therefore, was drinking heavily. This was his first light drink and felt wonderful. It felt like a weight was being lifted from his shoulders.

He tilted his head back again, one time for how confused and lost he felt.

Another one, for a toast to loneliness and all the empty space it carried just for him and him alone. Maybe he'd be his best man for tonight.

Another gulp that burned the back of his throat just because.

And another.

An another.

An one more.

Just one more sho -

"Sir?"

Nick snapped out of his shot inducing trance and looked up to see the barbary lion was back again towering over him but trying not to by leaning close, peering anxiously at the red vulpine. Nick sheepishly smiled and set his half empty shot glass back on the table - or at least he thought it was the table before he heard the tell-tale signs of glass shattering into a million pieces. He glanced down, the room tilting like the leaning tower of Pisa from the sudden action, and stared blankly at the small, sharp mess he'd made on the linoleum floor.

The bartender winced.

Nick looked back up and gave a lopsided smile, or a smirk, either way it was lopsided, "Guess I got a bit carried away, huh?"

"You don't say..." Muttered the lion as he puffed out a sigh an went back to towering over Nick once more. He pointed a finger to him, "You sir," He said with a deep baritone voice and jutted his thumb behind him, "Need to leave, before you hurt yourself."

-BREAKLINE-

Too late, Nick thought smugly as he stumbled onto the concrete and inhaled the insufferable fumes of car exhaust, fast food joints, vodka, and what he could only assume to be throw up.

Or was..that his?..Did he throw up at all during the time he left the bar? He couldn't remember - at all...

He was walking down the sidewalk, occasionally having to find his ground to keep himself from tilting and unbalancing himself. He got the occasional 'what the fuck is wrong with you?' looks from busy bodies. And the one occasion of a someone stopping to ask him if he needed a ride home. But he would kindly recline the offer and continue on his way. The ground spinning and tumbling, twisting an turning.

Gasping, Nick stopped next to a bench that just so happened to conveniently be near him to a degree of where he didn't have to move a lot an make the spinning worse. He sat down heavily and messaged both of his temples to staple the headache that was slowly pounding in the back of his skull and keep it in its place.

"I took it way further than I thought..." Nick muttered lightly under his breath. Should've kept his promise..

Exhaling deeply, he cupped his snout in his hands and kept still, not daring to move for fear of awakening the already heavy headache. Once again, the rational side of him was squealing an running in a circle holding the same neon sign screeching practically in his ear,'Call her you dimwit, CALL HER!'.

"Uuugghh..." He fumbled for his phone in his side pocket before reaching for it in his left pocket only to discover it wasn't there either. Shit, he thought panicking as he patted every inch of his body without trying to make it seem awkward as he did so. He made another pat against his chest and breast pocket and briefly felt his pads slap hard surface. Smiling with glee, he reached in an pulled out his phone, turning it on and dialing down the brightness settings so his eyes wouldn't sting like they already did - and also so he could keep down the headache that was really trying to make its presence known to the

rest of his skull.

He unlocked the screen and went straight to contacts passing by all other names and numbers as they were of no use to him. He was more concerned about getting home safely even though he knew Judy would kick his ass when she found out he had been heavily drinking the whole night; and that he had not taken no more than two shots of alcohol. All in all he was a mess and Judy was his broom and dust pan, ready to sweep up his petty, childish, mistakes and dump them in his already to full bin filled to the brim with mistakes and wrong choices and regrets.

Static crackled on the other line, loud and ringing in his ear causing his already still sore eardrums to throb. But, still determined to face the scolding head on, Nick sat there on the bench waiting for his partner's onslaught of insults an colorful words as he explained what happened. He sat there an waited for a whole minute calling back about three times after deciding not to leave any voicemails for her.

He mentally slapped himself. Of course she wasn't going to answer, she was out partying with friends and having the time of her life. And he was sitting on a bench in the dead of night with only a few pedestrians passing by. He was all alone on a bench; he didn't have his badge, didn't have any police paraphernalia of weapons that he could use to fend for himself, and he didn't even have a radio to call for help or back if he were to get into any situation.

And once again, the audience questions how the fuck he got into the police academy and graduated...at all.

"Don't do anything stupid"

"I always do"

Smooth Wilde, smooth

So there Nick sat on a bench, with the quiet hum of city life in Sahara Square whizzing within his eardrums and pale orange streetlights illuminating his bedraggled russet and auburn fur, while he, Nicholas Wilde, endured what knew to be the comfort of he knew to be loneliness; he allowed his headache to take over, no longer minding how his brain throbbed against his skull. He no longer minded the heinous scents that wafted up his nose; and he didn't even mind the fact that he was sitting on a bench, drunk, with the world spinning and twirling melting into a chronomatic coloring wheel until it was nothing but a see of insufferably loud colors blinding him.

But he didn't mind. And so, with his mind made up, there Nick sat on a bench drunk in the dead of night asleep in the comforting embrace of aloneness...


	3. Chapter 3

Look, Carrots, if this is you calling me AGAIN about setting my alarm clock...well..I didn't so anyways, I've hyped myself up on caffeine AND sweets so I won't be NEEDING an alarm clock anyway. Oh, and one more thing...

I really am just a dumb bunny!

Please leave a message after the beep

BEEEEEEP!

"Nick, it's me Judy calling to make sure you got home safe and sound...please call me when you ARE home alright? I'm already worried for you as it is...okay so - bye?"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! CLICK!

Sighing, the grey rabbit slumped on her bed and set her iCarrot on her wooden desk. Knew I shouldn't have let him go to a bar by himself...or at least..I HOPE he wasn't by himself. If there's one thing Judy knew for certain about Nick it was that, if he wasn't put in his place, he got pretty out of control. And usually, Judy or some of her fellow co-workers who Nick had befriended, would be there to keep his drinking under control. But she wasn't there, an she had a sneaking suspicion in her gut, which was never wrong, that he had gone out for a small occasion by himself with no one there to stop him from going overboard.

He could be anywhere right now, Sahara Square, Nocturnal District -God please don't let him be there- or...no those are the only places he'd be right now...

She pondered for a moment. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to go to the Forest District, where he lived, maybe see if he was sound asleep an drunk in his bed..or his couch.

Problem was, the Forest District wasn't the most keenest of places for prey like herself to be at night; you see the Forest District was different from all the other districts because all varieties of mammals could live in its average climate. So it didn't really matter if you were a TundraTown citisen or a Sahara Square samaritan, or even part of the Rainforest District, you were comfortable enough to live there in the quaint humble abode that was the Forest District. Of course, that would be silly to call a place such as the Forest District 'quaint'. In fact, it was the opposite - it was a place for gang members to hangout and a place where the wasted could get down an dirty behind broken an abandoned warehouses. It was more of a place for the misfit predators, or at least that's how Nick described it to Judy one day when she'd been curious about why he lived in such a rundown area while they'd been sorting through files in his apartment room.

"Well - it's affordable for one thing," He stated while reclining deeper into the hard, worn fabric of the sofa, glancing down at a thin stack of files he was sifting through in his dark auburn hands.

"And...that's it? There's no other reason for why you'd ever want to live in such a crummy excuse for a piece of cra-"

"My..mother lives in a retirement home for the elderly just a couple of blocks from here."

"Oh..."

Silence filled the room for a second, only the occasional movement of physical bodies or paper being shifted was the only noise heard from miles within the spacious apartment.

A slight cough escaped the vulpine's mouth before he could stop himself. It was fake and entirely useless trying to cover up the noise considering that he had a rabbit in his living room...so..pretty pointless action there.

"What is it?" Judy asked questionably curious. She hadn't asked any more questions about the neighborhood he lived in, figuring it was a sensitive subject and decided to drop it an wait till he was ready to talk to her about it some more. She honestly hadn't even thought he would say anything else about the subject and that he'd drop it all together but there he was sitting down on the couch an basically summarising the conditions of the Forest District.

"It's basically like half Sahara Square an half of TundraTown since this is the only District not affected by the different climates of the seasons," Nick explained as best he could - or at least from what his mother had told him at a younger age, "The place is rundown because not that many people care for this District and they have a perfectly good reason not to."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Judy asked skeptically, crossing her arms over the small of her chest, "I mean it is rundown an could use some much need decoration but most of the neighborhoods we passed just to get to your apartment weren't even that bad. The people looked nice-"

"Because I'm a cop, Carrots. They're not going to hurt me," The fox had stated while writing something down on one of the many files they were sorting through; a bunch of convenient robberies had occurred in downtown areas in Sahara Square and TundraTown an it all seemed to be connected to some mysterious e-mails sent to each individual owner under the name: Cloverfield. (haven't even see the damn movie an I'm already in love with it...) Now all they had to do was find someone with that last name - well, that's what they were doing at first until Judy suddenly came up with the theory that the anonymous mammal lived on a street called Cloverfield.

So now they were at Nick's apartment sorting through as many files as possible to find the culprit.

"Anyways," Nick said getting back on track to his original conversation, "Most predators, like myself, are ridiculed an shunned in many parts of Zootopia and none of the districts seem to be very keen on having us around like weasels, cats- the smaller pedigree kind, foxes, doesn't even matter which fox, ferrets, stoats, you name em'. They'll name down all of our 'colorful' stereotypes an go on an on an on about how we're nothing but untrustworthy freak-a-lots, cheesy name I know,...then they'd proceed to kick us out the building, literally, an so you're either homeless - or, you're making your way to the Nocturnal District. Or in this case, the Forest District."

Ever since Nick had explained the ins an outs of the district, Judy had refrained from ever even attempting to go back there; unless Nick was with her of course.

"I'm a cop, Carrots. They're not going to hurt me."

Well..true. She was a cop so technically there was nothing they could do to hurt her less they wanted to spend some time in prison for aggravated assault against an officer. But the point still stood its ground firmly; there were pickpockets there!, an not to mention thugs, gangs, those ruthless homeless people who would kill just to get food or money an had been completely an utterly deprived of their sanity years ago. Shuddering, the rabbit breathed in deeply through her nose before standing up an placing her phone in her side pocket before heading out the door, a steely determined look on her face as she walked out into the cool, refreshing, night air.

First stop, Forest District...


	4. Chapter 4

It was dark, an spooky...it was misty an the air was stale an dry. The inside of his mouth felt like sandpaper an his throat felt about as sore as...something got shoved down his throat no pun intended. He didn't know how he knew this, but something was definitely being shoved or poured down his throat. Yeah, okay, he was going to take his chances with pour, the thought of something being shoved down his throat made him gag.

Gag...

Wait.

Where the crap am I?

Blurry shapes an figures is what greeted the wasted red vulpine as a flash of blinding golden light hit him square in the eyes dead center. Hissing, he shut them tightly an placed an arm over both to shield them away from the harsh glowing monstrosity that seemed to further along a headache he'd completely forgotten existed. After keeping his eyes closed for a whole minute he opened them again, slowly this time, an found himself giving a nice visual assessment of the current situation he was in; it was still dark out an a harsh wind was blowing at his shitty attire that wasn't keeping him warm in the slightest. He was on the ground, lying on his side, the concrete cool an uninviting as he felt the ticklish sensation of ants crawling along his body. Yelping, he jumped up, completely ignoring the headache that skyrocketed, an began to do what any other mammal would've assumed was a crazy person doing the 'Ants In My Pants Dance' on the sidewalk in the middle of the night but there were actual ants crawling all up an down the side of which Nick had been lying down. He slapped, scratched, an even dropped dead an rolled over just to get the small insects off his clothing an out of his fur.

Once he was sure he'd gotten them all out he felt itching an burning sensations all along the length of his left side, which was the side he'd been sleeping on for the most part, an growled lowly under his breath.

An then he remembered why he'd woken up in the first place.

Pouring...throat?

Somethin' in my thro'at...

A metallic taste is what hit him straight on an he gagged once more. He swallowed, trying to expel whatever was caught in his jugular but it remained, the most of it coating his tongue. My tongue...my tongue. Hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts-

"OW!" He yelped, sticking his tongue out an examining what he could make out to be tiny pricks made by his teeth causing blood to come streaming out of the holes of the rough pink skin. Must've bit it when I fell off the bench while I was sleeping...

Still hurt like fuck though.

"Well that's just great. I got drunk, slept on a bench, fell off said bench, an bit my tongue! Wonderful, absolutely wonder- why am I talking to myself?" Nick stopped himself mid sentence when he realised what he was doing; talking to himself in the middle of the night lying on cold concrete on a sidewalk.

"Yep. It's official, I'm going insane; this is sadly starting to come together now..."

Sighing, Nick stood shakily an gave another visual assessment of his surroundings. He was still in the same area so he wasn't surprised. I mean I'm totally stoned so none of this surprises me anymore...

He patted himself down an checked his pockets to discover:

1) His wallet was missing

2) He had fifty cents an a twenty dollar bill in his right pocket that for some reason wasn't stolen from him...

3) Whoever stole his wallet didn't give a rat's ass about his Ramsung for some reason...

4) Said Ramsung was on low thirty percent but that was a lot better than...well the current situation he found himself waking up to

Well that's just great! He thought sluggishly, Just splendid, absolutely wonderful! I dare even call it, the highlight of this wonderful night!

Groaning, the red fox gave a halfhearted stretch before rubbing at the back of his head, "I guess I should head home but - where am I?" He closed his eyes an tried to remember where he'd been heading in the first place after he'd left the bar - but nothing came to mind. Well, shit. Looks like I'm gonna have to retrace my steps...wait, why don't I just call Judy? The thought seemed to slap him harshly in the face; apparently his right conscious had gotten tired having to remind him constantly of his alternative choice. He grabbed his phone and went straight to contacts and quickly tapped on her name since it was in his favorites category. He waited, not sure who he was praying to, but praying all the same that she would actually answer. The phone was static for a while, a couple of minutes or seconds passed by before there was a click on the other end and the sound of wind blowing against the screen of the phone.

"Nick?!" Judy asked from the other end sounding relieved but with a hint of...something else? He couldn't tell and he really didn't care as he breathed out his own sigh of relief, smiling with glee which was a far stretch from his usual smirk or sly smile.

"Oh, Carrots! Thank goodness! Hey, um, where are you right now cause I was wondering if you could come and pick me up or something...you did say that you had a car right?"

Judy shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see her doing so, "No, I don't; Nick I told you I have to rent it from my neighbor. They're practically telling me to pay up more than I can bare!"

"Oh."

"It's okay - where are you? Maybe I can try to call a taxi-" She was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

"Can't. It's practically pass midnight and everyone's gonna be asleep and the Zootopia Taxi Service hotline is closed for the night," Nick stated while placing a paw on his hip, he was starting to get a feeling...

"Okay..well, I'm heading to your apartment -" Once again she was cut off by the red vulpine.

"I'm not at my apartment..."

"..."

"Judy, did you just go to the Forest District by yourself! What the fuck is wrong with you!" Nick was practically screeching with worry at this point, already heading down the street not knowing where he was or if he was going in the right direction, but knowing that he needed to get to the doe rabbit first, before someone else does...

-:-

Judy visibly flinched at the sound of Nick's voice on the other end. Not because his voice had pitched higher in volume but because he had called her by her first name...and he was angry too. She winced and lowered her ears; Nick had hung up almost immediately afterwards before she could even think to explain why she was here in the first place though it should have been completely obvious to the half sober fox.

Knew I shouldn't have come... she thought grumpily as she sat down on the sidewalk and looked around her surroundings, ears no longer hanging limp behind her back but now standing full and erect as she waited, listening for any sounds that spelled danger. The sound of a can rolling caught her attention and she perked up turning in the direction from which the sound came from only to see nothing but darkness. And, now that the doe thought about, since the Forest District, technically was the Nocturnal District, shouldn't there be lights surrounding the area and mammals moving about? But then again, there are parts of the district that pertain to morning mammals...perhaps that's the side of the district I'm on.

And then immediately after thinking that she realised that she hadn't even bothered to tell Nick where she was, meaning he was probably heading to the wrong part of the district; and she couldn't just stay here, she was gonna have to leave at some point eventually or else. Getting up, the doe made a quick hearing assessment of her surroundings before nodding at nothing being or sounding out of place and made her way...somewhere. She really didn't know where she was going, but of it got her away from this decrepit and dark part of the city she was okay with going anywhere and nowhere.

Speaking of nowhere...

"You're not going nowhere."

Convenient timing of random mammal saying nowhere at the same time that Judy was thinking of the word nowhere and using it in a sentence where our poor protagonist is put in a serious situation convenient to the plot is convenient. That's five whole sins added folks!

The rabbit swung around to face a dark figure dressed in the appropriate clothing of darkness that made them look as if the night sky had dripped its inky goodness onto the mammal and wrapped itself like a blanket around their interior. Judy could just barely make out the figure's face. The dark figure stepped closer to Judy, each step they took feeling more and more like a tease to the rabbit as she watched them carefully.

But not carefully enough as the figure silently reached into its cloak of night sky and whipped out a sharp dagger. The tip of its blade giving off a deadly gleam in the pale sodium lights that just barely flickered, giving off some light but not enough. Judy gasped as she felt the cold blade whipped passed her, almost cutting her cleanly through the chest. She jumped upwards as they tried to land another heavy blow at her, this time with a kick, but the doe was quick to notice this time and jumped at approximately the right time.

"Dammit!" The clad figure yelled, their voice muffled by something wrapped around their mouth, perhaps a voice modifier, "Hold the fuck still!"

Judy jumped once more into the air and gave the figure a drop kick straight to the head sending them reeling and flying backwards; for a rabbit, she could really pack a punch - or should I say, can really alpacka kick. Huh, huh, hu- no, okay...

The dark clad figure struggled back to their feet after being knocked into a bunch of trash bins. Now fully smelling like shit an vomit, the clad figure huffed in annoyance and produced another dagger, this one being bigger and more deadly by the looks of things.

With two daggers I'm no match. He could easily overpower me any day, an judging by his appearance and skill with daggers, I'd say he's a master at this sort of thi- AAAAHHH!

"AAAAHHH!" Judy went flying through the air, letting out an ear-rapping screech to go along with her as she did so. Pain ricocheted up an down her system as she slammed into the ground, blood slowly leaking out of her cut. She reached a shaky hand towards where she thought, presumed, and hoped to god wasn't where she thought the cut was at; but it was.

She'd been cut in the stomach, clearly by the bigger blade as it left a deeper gash and hurt ten times worse than any small blade could do. She grit her teeth and tried to stand back up only to feel more pain through her body as she felt the smaller blade slice across one of her ear tips, effectively cutting the tip off and leaving blood to ooze into the pink flat of her ear. Tears sprung into the corners of the battered rabbit as she lay there, trembling, her nose twitching at rapid fire and her ears rotating this way and that, her instincts going into hyperdrive.

I gotta get up, I gotta get up I gotta- Her will to urge herself on was cut short by the figure standing before her, dark clothing making them look like the harbinger of death as they raised the big blade above her and said in an almost unemotional voice, "Bye bye bunny."

And brought the blade downwards unto the amethyst eyed doe.

Blackness...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Where am I?"

"W-wh-what's going on?!"

Blackness cloaked the landscape, she could barely see her hand. She couldn't make out any other mammals...just, just, darkness. Eyes as bright as the sun stared back at her, glowing, almost reminding her of fireflies which she had only seen on her family farm way back in her youth days. The eyes glowing flickered and one maniac of a smile spread across the blackness, the white of their teeth causing an almost rift in space, slicing through the darkness almost.

"Come here, my sweet.." a voice as slick and smooth as Nick's oosed out of nowhere an everywhere.

"W-wha?" she asked confusedly.

"Judy..don't do it!"

"Nick...?"

"I DON'T CARE! I LOVE HIM!"

Turning, the doe looked at where the sound came from and found herself looking at a burning gaping hole in the pitch blackness. A colorful backdrop was shown of the inside of a beige area, almost like a hallway, there standing in it was the clear fugrines of Nick and Judy...not bantering..but arguing. Granted, they've argued with eachother before, mostly due to Nick's defiance and independance and much like hers albeit stronger and much more annoying - but that's why they had eachother, to remind eachother about their weaknesses and limitations. But this..this was different. The anger was pure for both, breathing heavily and hands balled into fists. Eyes glaring into amethyst eyes like daggers and bodies trembling with their rage and frustration. She looked, confusion etched on her face.

"JUDY, YOU'RE WAY OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE HERE!" Nick snapped, baring his sharp white fangs at the doe.

"NO! I'M GOING AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!"

"You don't know what he's like...Judy...please..don't do this.." Nick whispered, tears slowly forming in the corners of his eyes as he looked up into the eyes of Judy who looked baffled and hesistant before shaking her head and glaring back at him an turning on her heels, hooking her arm around someone else's arm and skipped off with them leaving a crouched red vulpine crying on the floor of the beige hallway, tears dropping onto the floor like raindrops, soaking deep into the carpet. The backdrop slowly deformed itself the darkness swooping in like a raging sea of blackness, swallowing up the frame before she had a chance to reach out towards the fox; instead she was pulled away visciously from the slowly being swallowed up by darkness backdrop to look into dead eyes, the wicked smile still there.

"Well hello my sweet," the voice whispered, etching closer to her. She was sure she was supposed to be able to feel their breath with how close they were to her face.

"Come with me, my sweet.." the voice said, now close enough to where she should've seen a face but didn't. Her body trembled, senses going into hyper drive as she backed away, wrenching her gase from the wicked smile.

"S-stay away from me!" she stuttered. She glanced back to see if the face complied but instead it took on a look of fury and grasped tightly at her arm pulling her back to where it was, she could now see rows of sharp teeth like daggers hanging from the inside of the black mouth.

"JUDY! COME WITH ME!"

Judy backed up, eyes wide with fear, breathing heavily as she looked around for a way to get away from them. She dodged it and ran in an opposite direction only to run straight into a wall, she practically smacked into it. Shellshocked for a second she didn't have time to defend herself as she was pulled violently and stared in horror as the thing began screaming in her face to a point where spit and brittle splattered all over her face.

"JUDY!

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"JUDY!"

"HELP!"

"JUDY!"

"JUDY!"

"stop, stop, stop, stop, STO-"

"Judy!"

Eyes snapping open, the doe hissed as a bright beam of light flashed in her eyes, blinding her for a second. For a minute she just closed her eyes tightly as she held an arm up to her eyes only to feel pain richoted up an down her arm. Gritting her teeth in pain, she threw her arm down immediately afterwards and opened her eyes once again, to find concerned emerald green eyes staring at her with worry. She blinked not quite registering what was going on or who was in front of her in the first place.

"Carrots...you okay?"

"Nick..?" she asked confusedly. The vulpine chuckled dryly with a soft genuine smile plastered across his black lips.

"The one an only," he stated. His hand was clutched tightly around her left one which was resting along the edge of the hospital bed. She looked down at it and then up the rest of her arm noticing a small IV plugged into her vein where a needle was inserted, pushing clear fluid through her system. She blinked in confusion and looked up at Nick with dull violet eyes.

"Nick...what happened?...

He just stared for a second before wrapping his arms around her and she could've sworn she heard choked sobs coming from the vulpine though they sounded more like hiccups instead," I'm so glad you're okay.." he mumbled softly, his breath just barely brushing against the hairs on her neck sending a shiver down her spine.

"Mmm..me too - I guess.."

"What'd do you mean 'you guess'?" Nick said pulling away from her small frame and leaning back once more in the recliner chair that was far too stiff to be considered a "recliner", "Carrots...you almost died yesterday. Died."

She blinked at him before gasping as she suddenly felt all her memories coming back; the chat on the phone with Nick, the meal and pleasantries, the kiss, the worry and irritation, walking down a dark street, being confronted by someone in dark clothing, then darkness...

And a lot of pain too...

But even then, she couldn't remember what happened after that..everything else seemed like a blur of darkness...an then there was that dream - or was it a nightmare? Or both? She didn't know, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know..but a sliver of her did want to...

"What happened?" she asked. Nick looked at her before sighing and closing his eyes tightly.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

Sighing heavily he clasped his hands together and glanced up at her before saying, "Alright, let me start from the beginning..."

{FLASHBACK}

"Stupid, dumb, bunny. Retarded, idiotic, moronic, BUNNY!"

Nick walked as fast he could, breathing heavily while irritation made his heart pound heavily in his chest. He let out a quiet snarl, and glared at nothing as he made his way down 14th and Ash street. He was so close, he had a steady idea that she didn't know where she was. Problem was, he had no idea what street she was on..and he hadn't even bothered to ask her in his fit of rage and mentally punched himself in the face for making that error.

God dammit Nick, why are you such an idiot at some of the worst times?! He mentally scolded himself with a scowl on his face. First getting wasted and sleeping on a bench..and now he'd literally forgotten to ask his own partner where she was which would have made things much quicker. On the bright side, Nick being Nick, he was street smart and knew some shortcuts to get to the Nocturnal District. 14th and Ash just happened to be one of those, and he just so happened to be not to far from it. His walking turned into a steady jog as he made his way through the alley, using his keen sense of smell to see if Judy had come through this way...she hadn't. Though he shouldn't have expected anything less of the grey rabbit. She was smart but still a dumb bunny at heart - he'd taught some of the alleys that made the most sense to go into if you were trying to find a shortcut to get somewhere to her during their first case together - the Nighthowler one - and she'd seemed to acknowledge what he'd said but now...he could only shake his head at her independence.

"I don't know what I was getting my hopes up for," he muttered as his night vision cut through the darkness like a blade, sweeping through his surroundings to make sure no pickpocketers or other lunatics weren't out and about at this time of night, er, day. The sun hadn't come up yet but Nick could feel that sharp chill of a breese that only the dawn could carry over the metropolis.

His ears twitched faintly as the wind brushed against their hairs. But...there was something else with that too. He was sure of it; pricking his ears up high and swiveling them to the right of the alley he could faintly make out the sound of something brushing against the ground. There were no shops or food joints in this district and if there were they didn't give a shit about about maintenance, or health code violations. So since it wasn't the sound of a broom dusting off grime and dirt from the buisness's porch, then it had to be something else...

The wind blew again an he could faintly make out on the horison pale pinks and cotton candy blues slowly mixing together and swallowing the stars and deep indigo, the moon losing its spark of milky white light as the sun rose in another direction from the moon and began to shine its glorious ultra violet onto the pedestrians' homes' windows encouraging them to awaken from slumber and get ready for whatever the day holds in store for the average mammal. Unfortunately, instead of Nick waking up early for another day of paperwork and cruisin' through the streets, he found himself following a scent that was female and what he hoped was a hint of rabbit mixed in. He dashed across chipped and worn concrete, almost declawing himself as he stumbled and stubbed his claw against a sharp crack in the pavement.

"Fuck!" he yelled, but decidely not stopping to address the boo-boo. The only thing that mattered right now was that he had a scent, a lead, and he was determined to solve this case.

The scent hadn't grown stronger yet and the sun had already won its battle against the moon for the right to shine in the sky and had now successfully awaken the majority, if not all, of the city. Nick could faintly hear the sounds of honking and engines revving and of a car screeching against smooth pavement.

"CARROTS!" he yelled though he wasn't really sure why. Perhaps it was just to have some sort of reassurance that she was there and alive, "Carrots! JUDY!?"

No answer.

Throat clenching and eyes stinging he gasped heavily as few tears tried to break loose from his dam, She's fine, she's fine, she's fine, she's fine. She's a strong independent bunny and top of her class...she can handle anything...

At least, that's what he kept telling himself, but the more he repeated it the more unsure he felt of those words.

It wasn't that he didn't believe in her, he'd learned to never under estimate her so there was no problem there, it was just that while Judy had all the right skills and motivation that made her such an amasing cop, she had far too many flaws mentally; for instance, when it came to certain crimes she could be an emotional wreck of tears and matted fur, she could try to hold it together but it never got her anywhere at all but feeling down even deeper in the slums. And whether Nick wanted to admit or not, it was pretty obvious how the rabbit was, could be, completely oblivious to her words that she spoke sometimes, especially when around another one of Nick's connections. It was like with Mr. Big, she knew he was a crime boss but that was all she knew really, she hadn't even tried to understand that the situation she'd just gotten herself into was not the type of situation where one would bring up the fact that they're a cop and immediatley accuse a powerful crime boss about the possible fact that a missing mammal was in their car an state out quite plainly that because you're a crime boss you obviosly hurt this poor mammal who did nothing to you and you clearly like to take sick pleasure in watching others fear you and suffer horribly, you sick twisted bastard - she may not have said it out loud to the arctic shrew's face but by the accusatory in tone and the way her voice was intense it was quite clear how she felt, rather than evaluating the situation at hand by character and motivation she just judged it by what it looks like. Something she was working on never doing again...ever..

Oh, and don't even get me started on her naivete. It was just...no...just, just - no...

And thinking all of those thoughts sent Nick's hope crashing down on him like a tsunami, what also crashed unto him, what he crashed into, was concrete. Pure, solid, painful, concrete. Hissing, he stood up an could already taste the metallicness of blood in his mouth, his tongue now felt like it was on fire.

"Frigga fragga, OW! Sssssshit!"

The scent was a bit stronger now, but he still couldn't tell if he was tripping or if that was actual rabbit scent he smelt on the air. What he did smell, was the scent of blood..couple hours old with a sour smell to it that seemed to go from his nostrils down his throat, he could practically taste it on his tongue - I mean - he could taste it on his tongue cause it was actual bleeding and sore as fuck. He lifted his nose to the wind as it swept through his fur once more making his fur puff up along his scruff, he could smell the blood now which seemed to be the stronger out of the rabbit and female scent. A slight whine escaped his lips before he could stop himself.

"Only one way to find out if it's what I think it is..." he said and followed the scent trail towards its mark...

He hadn't expected it. The pool of blood pooled around her and was streaked across the ground in trail clearly showing that someone had been dragging the rabbit across the ground. The sun had risen now to its highest peak, gleaming down on the crimson puddle setting off a golden sheen like sparkle to the edges of it. It was just...inappropriate. He'd sat there, kneeling on the ground beside her, craddling her in his arms while he'd weeped tears streaming down his cheeks and falling like raindrops onto the rabbit's face which was stoic and expressionless nothing he was used to at all. He was used to the bright cheerful smile and gleaming amethyst eyes sparkling with naviete and confidence and hope. But there was none there. She was gone - dead possibly. Her body felt more colder the longer he held her.

"SON OF BITCH!" he screamed tilting his head upwards towards the sky as he did so, baring his teeth. A groan from a couple of feet away from him made himsnap his neck around almost giving him a whiplash. A dark cloaked figure clearly covered in not their own blood staggered to their feet moaning from pain at the double drop kick they'd recieved. A sharp snarl caused them to look up to see a furious looking red fox crouched on all fours with his hackles raised and backed arched, ears pressed against flat of his skull, pink gums showing along with his polished white teeth that most certainly wouldn't be white for long.

"YOU. SON. OF A. BITCH! DAMN YOU!" the fox lunged and the figure took off effectively throwing off its cloak in the process which landed on Nick's face causing him to yelp as he tripped and stumbled over his paws and tail, slamming his jaw into the concrete. Whining his tongue flared upwards with searing pain before he remebered what was happening and what his objective was and he leaped to his paws and shook off the cloak only to see no one there but himself and a slowly dying bunny...

{END OF FLASHBACK}

"And then I called an ambulance an tried to stop the blood flow which seemed completely pointless. Because of your smallness the doctor said you'd lost blood faster mostly due to the sharp massive cut on your stomach," Nick finished the story with a firm summary of the ending.

Judy blinked, eyes wide as she turned away from the fox and glanced beneath the covers to find that a massive bandage of gause was wrapped around her mid-section tightly and firmly enough to hold the stitches in place which they'd needed to do because of how large the wound had been, clearly made by a massive dagger cutlery knife. On the plus side, besides the overflow of blood she'd been losing, the knife dagger hadn't cut any vitals or anything like that so there was that...

"When can I get out?" she asked softly, looking back up at him.

He'd been staring down at his paws for a second before glancing back up at her, "Yeah - about that...you're gonna be at my place for some time," he stated hesistantly. Blinking the doe stared wide eyed at him, "Why?" she asked confusedly.

"Because you're on paid leave until the doctor says you're ready to head back to work and even then you'll just being doing paperwork - and so am I...on paid leave I mean," he stated. That apparently brought her back to life and she stared large eyes at the vulpine sitting in front of her.

"What?!" she squeaked, "I can't be on paid leave I have a job to do!"

"And you'll have plenty of others to do that job for you. You're not the only cop on the force you know..."

"I know.."

A comfortable silence fell over the white room, the smell of alcohol and other medicines and sich filled both mammals' nostrils making them breath shallowly.

Judy then broke the silence, "So when can I lea-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as the door to the room as a female caracal walked into the room looking down at a clipboard. She glanced up showing an amsing set of bright light amber eyes; she offered a slight smile to the fox which he returned back before making her towards Judy with a confident stride in her step. The feline beamed a radiant smile at the doe showing all her incisors as she did so.

"Hello, Miss Hopps; my name's Dr. Kitren and I'm going to be the one to take care of you!"

"Hi," she replied hoarsely, she hadn't had anything to drink in a while.

"So what's the news doc?" Nick asked, leaning precariously over in his seat to a point where Judy was sure he would fall out an land flat on his face. The doctor glanced down at her clipboard staring intently at the reports written on the papers. She flipped each paper reading it carefully before flipping back to the first page and nodded her head, mumbling something incoherinsible. Finally, she got around to answering Nick's question.

"She's fine, luckily the blade didn't cut any vitals or arteries so there's that; unfortunately Ms. Hopps-"

"Just...call me Judy," the lapine interrupted shyly.

The doctor went into a slight silence of shock for being interrupted before shaking her head and nodding politely, "Right, of course. Ahem, like I was saying - you'll have to stay here for some weeks so that way I can monitor your health and make sure you're good to go. I'd say...about possibly," the feline turned to Nick for a moment," two or four weeks maybe?" She looked to the vulpine for comfirmation which in response he nodded his head.

Judy let out an audible groan.

"Oh come on Carrots, it won't be that bad having me around for company while you spend your time lying in a hospital bed doing nothing and being completely bored out of your mind!" Nick exclaimed in sarcastic optimism. Judy glared back at the fox and was tempted to pick up one of the medical equipment next to her bed an throw it at his smug face. Instead, she decided to do something else, which was sticking her tongue out and puffing out her cheeks as she did so. Nick only chuckled lightly at her expression along with the sound of a camera snapping which made Judy blinked in shock as she shook her fist at the male vulpine.

"Can't do anything while you're stuck in that bed, Fluff."

"I hate you."

"Do not."

"Do to."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do-!"

"Are you both done?" the caracal asked, her voice filled with irritation and her eyes narrowed to slits.

"Sorry!" Both vulpine and lapine exclaimed bashfully, Judy blushing profusedly from realising how childish she was being.

Nick cleared his throat and made a sweeping motion with his right hand, "You were saying?"

"So will she be staying in here for two weeks or four weeks?"

The red fox thought for second, tilting his head up towards the ceiling and tapping a finger against his chin. Please don't say four weeks, please don't say four weeks, please don't say four weeks! Judy thought - no - prayed to the heavens that Nick wouldn't tease her and put her through more agony by making her spend a whole four weeks in the hospital.

"Three weeks at the minimum."

"You're - you're serious!?"

Nick looked at her as though she'd started speaking dog, "Well yeah, I mean, I knew you'd go nutso if you'd staued here any longer so I went with three weeks," he explained. And then he smirked at her mischieviously, "Unless of course, you want, three weeks-"

Judy shook her head violently causing her ears to flop about uselessly behind her, "No, no, no, no, no, no!" That's fine! It's fine - I'll take the three weeks!" she exclaimed.

Boy, these are gonna be some interesting weeks ahead of us... Nick thought chuckling.

And rightfully so...


End file.
